Navigation and positioning system using radio beam support information

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for wireless communication are provided. In one example, a mobile device is configured to: obtain beam support information of a plurality of cells; perform measurements of one or more signals at the mobile device based on the beam support information of the plurality of cells to support a location determination operation for the mobile device; and transmit results of the measurements of the one or more signals to at least one of a location server or to a base station to support the location determination operation. The beam support information may include: a number of beams supported at each cell of the plurality of cells, information to identify each beam of the number of beams supported at the each cell, beam width information of the each beam, and/or Positioning reference Signals (PRS) codebook information which encapsulates the beams which are enabled along various elevation and azimuth angles.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/302,521, filed May 5, 2021, entitled “NAVIGATION AND POSITIONINGSYSTEM USING RADIO BEAM SUPPORT INFORMATION,” which is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 16/509,500, filed Jul. 12, 2019, now U.S. Pat.No. 11,057,861, issued Jul. 6, 2021, entitled “NAVIGATION ANDPOSITIONING SYSTEM USING RADIO BEAM SUPPORT INFORMATION,” which claimsthe benefit and priority of Indian Provisional Application No.201841041176, filed Oct. 31, 2018, entitled “NAVIGATION AND POSITIONINGSYSTEM USING RADIO BEAM SUPPORT INFORMATION,” all of which are assignedto the assignee hereof and incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to electronic devices, andmore particularly to methods and apparatuses for use to support locationdetermination of a mobile device using a fifth-generation (5G) wirelessnetwork.

2. Information

Obtaining the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wirelessnetwork may be useful for many applications including, for example,emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating a friendor family member, etc. Existing location methods include methods basedon measuring the timing of radio signals received from a variety ofdevices including, for example, satellite vehicles (SVs), terrestrialradio sources (e.g., a base station), etc. in a multiple-access wirelessnetwork. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, etc. AFDMA network may include, for example, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks,Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, etc. It is expected thatstandardization for new fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks willinclude support for various positioning methods, both new and existing,such as Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (OTDOA), Enhanced Cell ID(E-CID), among others.

A base station in a 5G network can transmit signals to support variouspositioning methods using multiple directional radio beams. Variousattributes of the radio beams, such as beam widths, can affect theaccuracy of the positioning operations. Embodiments disclosed hereinenable positioning operations to be adapted according to the attributesof the radio beams transmitted by different base stations, to improvethe accuracy of positioning operations in 5G wireless networks.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a method for wireless communication, themethod being performed by a location server and comprising: obtainingbeam support information of a plurality of cells; configuring a locationdetermination operation for a mobile device based on the beam supportinformation of the plurality of cells, the location determinationoperation comprising measurements of one or more signals to be performedby at least one of the mobile device or one or more cells of theplurality of cells; receiving results of the measurements of the one ormore signals; and determining a location of the mobile device based onthe results of the measurements of the one or more signals.

In some aspects, the beam support information comprises at least one of:a number of beams supported at each cell of the plurality of cells,information to identify each beam of the number of beams supported atthe each cell, beam width information of the each beam, or Positioningreference Signals (PRS) codebook information which encapsulates thebeams which are enabled along various elevation and azimuth angles.

In some aspects, the information to identify each beam of the number ofbeams supported at the each cell comprises a bitmap. Each bit of thebitmap corresponds to a beam, and a value of the each bit indicateswhether the beam is supported at the each cell.

In some aspects, the method further comprises transmitting a query toeach base station of each cell of the plurality of cells to request thebeam support information. The beam support information is obtained afterthe query is transmitted. In some examples, the query is transmittedunder New Radio Location Protocol A (NRPPa) protocol.

In some aspects, the method further comprises transmitting aninformation request to each base station of each cell of the pluralityof cells, the information request including a list of information items,one of the list of information items including the beam supportinformation. The beam support information is obtained after theinformation request is transmitted. The information request may beincluded in at least one of: an Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) measurementinitiation request message, or an Observed Time Difference Of Arrival(OTDOA) information request message. The information request can betransmitted under NRPPa protocol.

In some aspects, the beam support information is not obtained from basestations of the plurality of cells. Instead, the beam supportinformation is obtained from at least one of: a maintenance operation ofthe location server, or a programming operation of the location server.

In some aspects, configuring the location determination operation forthe mobile device comprises: generating configuration data based on thebeam support information; and transmitting the configuration data to themobile device, to enable the mobile device to perform the measurementsof one or more signals with a subset of cells of the plurality of cellsfor the location determination operation. The configuration data mayinclude Assistance Data.

In some aspects, the method further comprises: ranking the subset ofcells based on number of beams supported at the each cell included inthe beam support information. The subset of cells supports highestnumbers of beams among the plurality of cells.

In some aspects, the method further comprises ranking the subset ofcells based on beam width of the beams supported at the each cellincluded in the beam support information. The subset of cells supportsnarrowest beams among the plurality of cells.

In some aspects, the configuration data includes information of thesubset of cells. In some examples, the configuration data includes thebeam support information of each cell of the plurality of cells. In someexamples, the measurements of one or more signals comprise at least oneof: measurements of Positioning Reference Signals (PRS), measurements ofReference Signal Received Power (RSRP), measurements of Reference SignalReceived Quality (RSRQ), Timing Advance, or Angle of Arrival (AoA).

In some aspects, configuring the location determination operation forthe mobile device comprises: selecting, based on the beam supportinformation, a subset of cells of the plurality of cells; andtransmitting a signal measurement request to the subset of cells toinitiate the location determination operation at the subset of cells.The signal measurement request comprises at least one of: an E-CIDmeasurement initiation request message, or an OTDOA information requestmessage.

In some aspects, configuring the location determination operation forthe mobile device comprises: selecting, based on the beam supportinformation, a subset of cells of the plurality of cells; and updating aschedule of PRS transmission at the subset of cells. Updating a scheduleof PRS transmission at the subset of cells comprises at least one of:updating a duration of each PRS signal, updating a period between theeach PRS signal, or updating a bandwidth allocated for the each PRSsignal.

The present disclosure also provides a location server configured toperform the method for the wireless communication as described above.The location server may include a processor to execute a set ofinstructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium toperform the method for the wireless communication as described above.

The present disclosure also provides a method for wirelesscommunication, the method being performed by a mobile device, the methodcomprising: obtaining beam support information of a plurality of cells;performing measurements of one or more signals at the mobile devicebased on the beam support information of the plurality of cells tosupport a location determination operation for the mobile device; andtransmitting results of the measurements of the one or more signals toat least one of a location server or a base station to support thelocation determination operation.

In some aspects, the beam support information comprises at least one of:a number of beams supported at each cell of the plurality of cells,information to identify each beam of the number of beams supported atthe each cell, beam width information of the each beam, or Positioningreference Signals (PRS) codebook information which encapsulates thebeams which are enabled along various elevation and azimuth angles.

In some aspects, the information to identify each beam of the number ofbeams supported at the each cell comprises a bitmap. Each bit of thebitmap corresponds to a beam. A value of the each bit indicates whetherthe beam is supported at the each cell.

In some aspects, the beam support information is obtained fromconfiguration data provided from a location server. The configurationdata may include a subset of the plurality of cells which support beamsthat are targeted at a location of the mobile device. In some examples,the beam support information is obtained from base stations of theplurality of cells. The beam support information is obtained via atleast one of: Radio Resource Control (RRC) Reconfiguration messages fromthe plurality of cells, or System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1)messages from the plurality of cells.

In some aspects, performing measurements of one or more signals at themobile device based on the beam support information of the plurality ofcells comprises: selecting, based on the beam support information, asubset of cells of the plurality of cells; and performing themeasurements with the subset of cells. The measurements of the one ormore signals comprise at least one of: measurements of PositioningReference Signals (PRS), measurements of Reference Signal Received Power(RSRP), or measurements of Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ).

In some aspects, performing measurements of one or more signals at themobile device based on the beam support information of the plurality ofcells comprises: selecting, based on the beam support information, asubset of cells of the plurality of cells; and transmitting a request tothe subset of cells to update a schedule of PRS transmission at thesubset of cells. In some examples, updating a schedule of PRStransmission at the subset of cells comprises at least one of: updatinga duration of each PRS signal, updating a period between the each PRSsignal, or updating a bandwidth allocated for the each PRS signal.

The present disclosure also provides a mobile device, such as a UserEquipment (UE), configured to perform the method for the wirelesscommunication as described above. The UE may include a processor toexecute a set of instructions stored in a non-transitory computerreadable medium to: obtain beam support information of a plurality ofcells; perform measurements of one or more signals at the mobile devicebased on the beam support information of the plurality of cells tosupport a location determination operation for the mobile device; andtransmit results of the measurements of the one or more signals to atleast one of a location server or to a base station to support thelocation determination operation.

In some aspects, the beam support information comprises at least one of:a number of beams supported at each cell of the plurality of cells,information to identify each beam of the number of beams supported atthe each cell, beam width information of the each beam, or Positioningreference Signals (PRS) codebook information which encapsulates thebeams which are enabled along various elevation and azimuth angles.

In some aspects, the information to identify each beam of the number ofbeams supported at the each cell comprises a bitmap. Each bit of thebitmap corresponds to a beam. A value of the each bit indicates whetherthe beam is supported at the each cell.

In some aspects, the beam support information is obtained fromconfiguration data provided from the location server.

In some aspects, the configuration data identifies a subset of cells ofthe plurality of cells which support beams that are targeted at alocation of the mobile device. The configuration data further includesinformation of the subset of cells.

In some aspects, the configuration data includes the beam supportinformation of each cell of the plurality of cells. The configurationdata may include Assistance Data.

In some aspects, the beam support information is obtained from basestations of the plurality of cells. The beam support information can beobtained by the location server from the base stations based on a querytransmitted under New Radio Location Protocol A (NRPPa) protocol. Thebeam support information can be obtained by the location server from thebase stations based on an information request.

In some aspects, the information request includes a list of informationitems, one of the list of information items including the beam supportinformation.

In some aspects, the beam support information is obtained from at leastone of: a maintenance operation of the location server, or a programmingoperation of the location server.

In some aspects, the beam support information is obtained via at leastone of: Radio Resource Control (RRC) Reconfiguration messages from theplurality of cells, or System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1) messagesfrom the plurality of cells.

In some aspects, the hardware processor is configured to execute the setof instructions to: select, based on the beam support information, asubset of cells of the plurality of cells; and perform the measurementsof the one or more signals with the subset of cells.

In some aspects, the measurements of the one or more signals comprise atleast one of: measurements of Positioning Reference Signals (PRS),measurements of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), measurements ofReference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Timing Advance, or Angle ofArrival (AoA).

In some aspects, the hardware processor is configured to execute the setof instructions to: select, based on the beam support information, asubset of cells of the plurality of cells; and transmit a request to thesubset of cells to update a schedule of PRS transmission at the subsetof cells. The updating a schedule of PRS transmission at the subset ofcells comprises at least one of: updating a duration of each PRS signal,updating a period between the each PRS signal, or updating a bandwidthallocated for the each PRS signal. In some aspects, the subset of cellssupports a highest number of beams among the plurality of cells. In someaspects, the subset of cells supports narrowest beams among theplurality of cells.

The present disclosure also provides a method of wireless communication.The method comprises: obtaining, by a mobile device, beam supportinformation of a plurality of cells; performing, by the mobile device,measurements of one or more signals at the mobile device based on thebeam support information of the plurality of cells to support a locationdetermination operation for the mobile device; and transmitting, by themobile device, results of the measurements of the one or more signals toat least one of a location server or to a base station to support thelocation determination operation.

In some aspects, the beam support information comprises at least one of:a number of beams supported at each cell of the plurality of cells,information to identify each beam of the number of beams supported atthe each cell, beam width information of the each beam, or Positioningreference Signals (PRS) codebook information which encapsulates thebeams which are enabled along various elevation and azimuth angles. Insome aspects, the information to identify each beam of the number ofbeams supported at the each cell comprises a bitmap. Each bit of thebitmap corresponds to a beam. A value of the each bit indicates whetherthe beam is supported at the each cell.

In some aspects, the beam support information is obtained fromconfiguration data provided from the location server.

In some aspects, the configuration data identifies a subset of cells ofthe plurality of cells which support beams that are targeted at alocation of the mobile device. In some aspects, the subset of cellssupports a highest number of beams among the plurality of cells. In someaspects, the subset of cells supports narrowest beams among theplurality of cells.

In some aspects, the beam support information is obtained via at leastone of: Radio Resource Control (RRC) Reconfiguration messages from theplurality of cells, or System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1) messagesfrom the plurality of cells.

In some aspects, the measurements of the one or more signals comprise atleast one of: measurements of Positioning Reference Signals (PRS),measurements of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), measurements ofReference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Timing Advance, or Angle ofArrival (AoA).

In some aspects, the method further comprises: selecting, by the mobiledevice and based on the beam support information, a subset of cells ofthe plurality of cells; and transmitting, by the mobile device, arequest to the subset of cells to update a schedule of PRS transmissionat the subset of cells. The updating a schedule of PRS transmission atthe subset of cells comprises at least one of: updating a duration ofeach PRS signal, updating a period between the each PRS signal, orupdating a bandwidth allocated for the each PRS signal.

The present disclosure also provides a non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing instructions that, when executed by a hardware processorof a mobile device, cause the mobile device to: obtain beam supportinformation of a plurality of cells, perform measurements of one or moresignals at the mobile device based on the beam support information ofthe plurality of cells to support a location determination operation forthe mobile device, and transmit results of the measurements of the oneor more signals to at least one of a location server or to a basestation to support the location determination operation.

In some aspects, the beam support information comprises at least one of:a number of beams supported at each cell of the plurality of cells,information to identify each beam of the number of beams supported atthe each cell, beam width information of the each beam, or Positioningreference Signals (PRS) codebook information which encapsulates thebeams which are enabled along various elevation and azimuth angles. Theinformation to identify each beam of the number of beams supported atthe each cell comprises a bitmap. Each bit of the bitmap corresponds toa beam. A value of the each bit indicates whether the beam is supportedat the each cell.

In some aspects, the beam support information is obtained fromconfiguration data provided from the location server. The beam supportinformation can be obtained via at least one of: Radio Resource Control(RRC) Reconfiguration messages from the plurality of cells, or SystemInformation Block Type 1 (SIB1) messages from the plurality of cells.

In some aspects, the non-transitory computer readable medium furthercomprises instructions that, when executed by the hardware processor,cause the mobile device to: select, based on the beam supportinformation, a subset of cells of the plurality of cells; and performthe measurements of the one or more signals with the subset of cells.The subset of cells supports a highest number of beams or narrowestbeams among the plurality of cells.

In some aspects, the measurements of the one or more signals comprise atleast one of: measurements of Positioning Reference Signals (PRS),measurements of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), measurements ofReference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Timing Advance, or Angle ofArrival (AoA).

In some aspects, the non-transitory computer readable medium furthercomprises instructions that, when executed by the hardware processor,causes the mobile device to: select, and based on the beam supportinformation, a subset of cells of the plurality of cells; and transmit arequest to the subset of cells to update a schedule of PRS transmissionat the subset of cells. The updating a schedule of PRS transmission atthe subset of cells comprises at least one of: updating a duration ofeach PRS signal, updating a period between the each PRS signal, orupdating a bandwidth allocated for the each PRS signal.

The present disclosure also provides an apparatus. The apparatuscomprises: means for obtaining beam support information of a pluralityof cells; means for performing measurements of one or more signals atthe apparatus based on the beam support information of the plurality ofcells to support a location determination operation for the apparatus;and means for transmitting results of the measurements of the one ormore signals to at least one of a location server or to a base stationto support the location determination operation.

In some aspects, the beam support information comprises at least one of:a number of beams supported at each cell of the plurality of cells,information to identify each beam of the number of beams supported atthe each cell, beam width information of the each beam, or Positioningreference Signals (PRS) codebook information which encapsulates thebeams which are enabled along various elevation and azimuth angles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive aspects are described with reference tothe following figures.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communication system that may utilize a 5Gnetwork to determine a location of a UE, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C represent examples of transmissions of radio beams,according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B represent an example of location measurement using radiobeams, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 4A and 4B represent another example of location measurement usingradio beams, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a signal measurement operation based onthe information of the radio beams transmitted by the base station,according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D represent an example of a communication systemthat utilizes radio beam support information to support locationdetermination operation, as well as examples of the radio beaminformation, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D illustrate examples of location determinationoperations adapted based on the radio beam support information of FIGS.6B-6D, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of performing locationmeasurement at a location server, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of performing locationmeasurement at a mobile device, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is an embodiment of a UE.

FIG. 11 is an embodiment of a computer system.

Like reference numbers and symbols in the various figures indicate likeelements, in accordance with certain example implementations. Inaddition, multiple instances of an element may be indicated by followinga first number for the element with a hyphen and a second number. Forexample, multiple instances of an element 110 may be indicated as 110-1,110-2, 110-3 etc. When referring to such an element using only the firstnumber, any instance of the element is to be understood (e.g., elements110 in the previous example would refer to elements 110-1, 110-2 and110-3).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some example techniques for determining the location of a user equipment(UE) are presented herein, which may be implemented at the UE (e.g., amobile device or mobile station), a location server (LS), a basestation, and/or other devices. These techniques can be utilized in avariety of applications utilizing various technologies and/or standards,including 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Open MobileAlliance (OMA) Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP)and/or LPP Extensions (LPPe), Wi-Fi®, Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS), and the like.

A UE may comprise a mobile device such as, for example, a mobile phone,smartphone, tablet or other mobile computer, a portable gaming device, apersonal media player, a personal navigation device, a wearable device,an in-vehicle device, or other electronic device. Location determinationof a UE can be useful to the UE and/or other entities in a wide varietyof scenarios. There are many methods already known to determine anestimated location of the UE, including methods that involvecommunicating measurement and/or other information between the UE and anLS.

It is expected that fifth-generation (5G) standardization will includesupport for positioning methods. One example of positioning method thatmay be supported in a 5G network is Observed Time Difference Of Arrival(OTDOA), which is used in LTE network. With OTDOA, a UE measures timedifferences, referred to as Reference Signal Time Differences (RSTDs),between reference signals transmitted by one or more pairs of basestations. In LTE, the reference signals used for OTDOA may includesignals that are intended only for navigation and positioning which maybe referred to as Positioning Reference Signals (PRS). To perform alocation measurement, a base station may be scheduled to transmit PRSsignals at certain time periods using frequency resources (e.g., apre-determined carrier frequency or a set of sub-carrier frequencies toperform the transmission). With OTDOA, a UE can measure time differencesof receiving PRS signals from multiple base stations relative to areference base station. Each time difference can correspond to ahyperbola, and the point at which these hyperbolas intersect cancorrespond to the UE position.

Another example of positioning method that may be supported in a 5Gnetwork is Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), which is also used in LTE network.With E-CID, the location of the UE can be estimated using the knowledgeof the geographical coordinates of its serving base station, and basedon performing measurements on cell-specific reference signals receivedby the UE from the serving base station and from other base stations.Various measurements on the reference signals can be performedincluding, for example, Timing Advance, Angle-of-Arrival (AoA)measurement, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference SignalReceived Quality (RSRQ), etc. Based on the measurements, a location ofthe UE relative to the serving base station can be determined. Therelative location can be combined with the geographical coordinates ofthe serving base station to estimate the location of the UE.

A base station in a 5G network can transmit signals to support theaforementioned positioning methods using multiple directional radiobeams. For example, a base station can transmit PRS signals using thedirectional radio beams towards different areas within a cell, and a UEcan perform RSTD measurements on the PRS signals received via thedirectional radio beams to support OTDOA operations. Moreover, thedirectional radio beams can also carry other reference signals tosupport measurements for E-CID operations. For example, for AoAmeasurement, a base station can estimate the angle of an uplinktransmission to a UE on a directional radio beam. The UE can alsoperform Timing Advance, RSRP, and RSRQ measurements based on measuringthe timing and power of the reference signals carried by the directionalradio beams.

There are various advantages of using directional radio beams to performpositioning operations as well as other aspects of wirelesscommunications, such as reduced interference, more efficient use ofspectrum and power, etc. However, various attributes of the radio beams,such as beam widths, can affect the accuracy of the positioningoperations. For example, in a case where relatively wide radio beams areused to carry reference signals, including PRS signals, the radio beamscan cover a relatively large area. As a result, a UE can obtain the samemeasurement result (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, RSRQ, etc.) from the signalscarried by the radio beam within the area, which adds uncertainty to thelocation determination of the UE. To reduce uncertainty to the locationdetermination, it is desirable for a UE to perform measurements on radiosignals carried by the relatively narrow radio beams.

Moreover, in a 5G network, the number of radio beams transmitted by abase station may vary between different cells, and a cell that supportsa higher number of radio beams typically deploys radio beams withnarrower beam widths than a cell that supports a smaller number of radiobeams. For example, the 5G specification allows support of up to fourradio beams for a carrier frequency range below 3 GHz, eight radio beamsfor a carrier frequency range between 3 GHz and 6 GHz, and 64 radiobeams for a carrier frequency range exceeding 6 GHz. But currently a UEcannot obtain information about the number of radio beams and/or thebeam widths of the radio beams supported by a particular cell, and theUE cannot choose which cell to perform the measurements based on thenumber and beam widths of the radio beams supported by the cell.

Techniques described herein below can address these issues to improvepositioning methods in 5G network. Specifically, a location server,which can coordinate a positioning operation for a UE, can obtain beamsupport information of a plurality of cells. The location server canconfigure a location determination operation for a UE based on the beamsupport information of the plurality of cells, the locationdetermination operation comprising measurements of one or more signalsby at least one of the mobile devices or one or more cells of theplurality of cells. The location server can then determine a location ofthe mobile device based on results of the measurements of the one ormore signals.

The beam support information can include information that can reflectthe beam widths of the radio beams supported at each cell. For example,the beam support information can indicate a number of radio beamssupported by each of the cells. In some examples, the beam supportinformation can include a bitmap to indicate which of a group of radiobeams are transmitted by a base station that serves each of the cells,with each bit of the bitmap being configured to identify a radio beamwithin the group. The bitmap can also indicate a number of radio beamssupported by each of the cells. As discussed above, a cell that supportsa higher number of radio beams typically deploys radio beams withnarrower beam widths than a cell that supports a smaller number of radiobeams. The plurality of cells can be ranked based on the number of radiobeams supported, and signal measurements with cells that support ahigher number of radio beams can be prioritized based on an expectationthat the beam widths of the radio beams deployed at these cells arelikely to be narrower. In some examples, the beam support informationcan also include beam widths information, which allows signalmeasurements to be prioritized with cells that support radio beams withnarrower beam widths.

There are various ways by which the location server can obtain the beamsupport information. In some examples, the location server can transmita query to the base station of each cell to request for the beam supportinformation. In some examples, the beam support information can beprovided by the base station to the location server to initialize alocation information transfer transaction, e.g., as part of OTDOAInformation Transfer or E-CID Location Information transfer operations.In some examples, the location server can also receive the beam supportinformation from a third party other than the base station (e.g., via amanagement/maintenance operation).

There are various ways by which the location server can configure thelocation determination operation. In some examples, the location servercan generate configuration data (e.g., Assistance Data) based on thebeam support information, and send the configuration data to the UE, toenable the UE to select a subset of the cells to perform signalmeasurements (e.g., PRS signal measurements for OTDOA operations). Insome examples, the configuration data may include the number of radiobeams supported at each cell, the beam widths of the radio beamssupported at each cell, etc., and the UE can select the subset of thecells supporting the highest number of beams among the cells based onthe configuration data to perform the signal measurements. In someexamples, the location server can also select the subset of the cellsbased on the beam support information and include the subset of thecells in the configuration data. The location server can also requestthe subset of cells to perform signal measurements with the UE (e.g.,RSRP/RSRQ measurement, Timing Advance measurements, etc., for E-CIDoperations), to increase the frequency and/or duration of PRS signalstransmission to facilitate the signal measurement at the UE, etc.

Techniques described herein can also be implemented at the UE. Forexample, the UE can receive the beam support information as part ofconfiguration data (e.g., Assistance Data) from the location server,cache the beam support information, and use the beam support informationto prioritize signal measurements with cells that support higher numberof radio beams and/or radio beams with narrower beam widths, asdescribed above. In some examples, the UE can also receive the beamsupport information via broadcast signals from neighboring cells (e.g.,SIB1 (System Information Block Type 1) broadcasts). In some examples,the UE can also request the base stations of cells that support highernumber of radio beams to increase the frequency and/or duration of PRSsignals transmission, to improve the likelihood that the UE can performsufficient number of PRS signals measurements for location determinationwithin a time window.

With such arrangements, the location determination operation can beadapted based on, for example, the number of radio beams supported atthe cells, the beam width of the radio beams supported at the cells,etc. Priority can be given to signal measurements with cells thatsupport higher number of radio beams and/or narrower radio beams, whichcan improve the efficiency and accuracy of location determinationoperation.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communication system 100 that may utilize a 5Gnetwork to determine a location of a UE 105, according to someembodiments. Here, the communication system 100 comprises a UE 105 and a5G network comprising a Next Generation (NG) Radio Access Network (RAN)(NG-RAN) 135 and a 5G Core Network (5GC) 140, which, along withproviding OTDOA-based positioning, may provide data and voicecommunication to the UE 105. A 5G network may also be referred to as aNew Radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or asan NR RAN; and 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG Core network (NGC).Standardization of an NG-RAN and 5GC is ongoing in 3GPP. Accordingly,NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 may conform to current or future standards for 5Gsupport from 3GPP. The communication system 100 may further utilizeinformation from GNSS satellite vehicles (SVs) 190. Additionalcomponents of the communication system 100 are described below. It willbe understood that a communication system 100 may include additional oralternative components.

It should be noted that FIG. 1 provides only a generalized illustrationof various components, any or all of which may be utilized asappropriate, and each of which may be duplicated as necessary.Specifically, although only one UE 105 is illustrated, it will beunderstood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) mayutilize the communication system 100. Similarly, the communicationsystem 100 may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs 190, gNBs110, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and/or othercomponents. The illustrated connections that connect the variouscomponents in the communication system 100 comprise data and signalingconnections which may include additional (intermediary) components,direct or indirect physical and/or wireless connections, and/oradditional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged,combined, separated, substituted, and/or omitted, depending on desiredfunctionality.

The UE 105 may comprise and/or be referred to as a device, a mobiledevice, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobilestation (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Enabled Terminal(SET), or by some other name. Moreover, as noted above, UE 105 maycorrespond to any of a variety of devices, including a cellphone,smartphone, laptop, tablet, PDA, tracking device, navigation device,Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or moveabledevice. Typically, though not necessarily, the UE 105 may supportwireless communication using one or more Radio Access Technologies(RATs) such as using Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Long TermEvolution (LTE), High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (alsoreferred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX), 5G new radio (NR) (e.g., using the NG-RAN 135and 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may also support wireless communicationusing a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) which may connect to othernetworks (e.g., the Internet) using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) orpacket cable for example. The use of one or more of these RATs mayenable the UE 105 to communicate with an external client 130 (e.g., viaelements of 5GC 140 not shown in FIG. 1 or possibly via Gateway MobileLocation Center (GMLC) 125) and/or enable the external client 130 toreceive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

The UE 105 may comprise a single entity or may comprise multipleentities such as in a personal area network where a user may employaudio, video and/or data I/O devices and/or body sensors and a separatewireline or wireless modem. An estimate of a location of the UE 105 maybe referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix,position, location estimate or location fix, and may be geographic, thusproviding location coordinates for the UE 105 (e.g., latitude andlongitude) which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g.,height above sea level, height above or depth below ground level, floorlevel or basement level). Alternatively, a location of the UE 105 may beexpressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or thedesignation of some point or small area in a building such as aparticular room or floor). A location of the UE 105 may also beexpressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or incivic form) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with someprobability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). A location ofthe UE 105 may further be a relative location comprising, for example, adistance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates definedrelative to some origin at a known location which may be definedgeographically, in civic terms, or by reference to a point, area, orvolume indicated on a map, floor plan or building plan. In thedescription contained herein, the use of the term location may compriseany of these variants unless indicated otherwise.

Base stations in the NG-RAN 135 may comprise NR Node Bs which are moretypically referred to as gNBs. In FIG. 1 , three gNBs are shown—gNBs110-1, 110-2 and 110-3, which are collectively and generically referredto herein as gNBs 110. However, a typical NG RAN 135 could comprisedozens, hundreds or even thousands of gNBs 110. Pairs of gNBs 110 inNG-RAN 135 may be connected to one another (not shown in FIG. 1 ).Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 105 via wirelesscommunication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110, whichmay provide wireless communications access to the 5GC 140 on behalf ofthe UE 105 using 5G (also referred as NR). In FIG. 1 , the serving gNBfor UE 105 is assumed to be gNB 110-1, although other gNBs (e.g., gNB110-2 and/or gNB 110-3) may act as a serving gNB if UE 105 moves toanother location or may act as a secondary gNB to provide additionalthroughout and bandwidth to UE 105.

Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 may also orinstead include a next generation evolved Node B, also referred to as anng-eNB, 114. Ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more gNBs 110 inNG-RAN 135 (not shown in FIG. 1 )—e.g., directly or indirectly via othergNBs 110 and/or other ng-eNBs. An ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wirelessaccess and/or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to UE 105. Some gNBs110 (e.g., gNB 110-2) and/or ng-eNB 114 in FIG. 1 may be configured tofunction as positioning-only beacons which may transmit signals (e.g., aset of pre-determined location measurement signals) and/or may broadcastassistance data to assist positioning of UE 105 but may not receivesignals from UE 105 or from other UEs. It is noted that while only oneng-eNB 114 is shown in FIG. 1 , the description below sometimes assumesthe presence of multiple ng-eNBs 114.

As noted, while FIG. 1 depicts nodes configured to communicate accordingto 5G communication protocols, nodes configured to communicate accordingto other communication protocols, such as, for example, an LPP protocolor IEEE 802.11x protocol, may be used. For example, in an Evolved PacketSystem (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to UE 105, a RAN may comprisean Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) TerrestrialRadio Access Network (E-UTRAN) which may comprise base stationscomprising evolved Node Bs (eNBs) supporting LTE wireless access. A corenetwork for EPS may comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). An EPS maythen comprise an E-UTRAN plus EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds toNG-RAN 135 and the EPC corresponds to 5GC 140 in FIG. 1 . The methodsand techniques described herein for support of UE 105 positioning may beapplicable to such other networks.

The gNBs 110 and ng-eNB 114 can communicate with an Access and MobilityManagement Function (AMF) 115, which, for positioning functionality,communicates with a Location Management Function (LMF) 120. The AMF 115may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell change and handoverand may participate in supporting a signaling connection to the UE 105and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 maysupport positioning of the UE 105 when UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135and may support location methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS),Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real Time Kinematics (RTK),Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), EnhancedCell ID (E-CID), angle of arrival (AoA), angle of departure (AoD),and/or other location methods. The LMF 120 may also process locationservices requests for the UE 105, e.g., received from the AMF 115 orfrom the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to AMF 115 and/or toGMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be referred to by other names such as aLocation Server (LS), Location Manager (LM), Location ManagementFunction (LMF), Location Function (LF), commercial LMF (CLMF), valueadded LMF (VLMF), etc. A description of some of the protocols supportedat LMF 120 can be found at, for example,https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/138400_138499/138455/15.00.00_60/ts_138455v150000p.pdf.In some embodiments, a node/system that implements the LMF 120 mayadditionally or alternatively implement other types of location-supportmodules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) ora Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). It is notedthat in some embodiments, at least part of the positioning functionality(including derivation of a UE 105's location) may be performed at the UE105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE 105 for signalstransmitted by wireless nodes such as gNBs 110 and ng-eNB 114, andassistance data provided to the UE 105, e.g., by LMF 120).

The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125 may support a locationrequest for the UE 105 received from an external client 130 and mayforward such a location request to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF115 to the LMF 120 or may forward the location request directly to theLMF 120. A location response from the LMF 120 (e.g., containing alocation estimate for the UE 105) may be similarly returned to the GMLC125 either directly or via the AMF 115 and the GMLC 125 may then returnthe location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to theexternal client 130. The GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115and LMF 120 in FIG. 1 though only one of these connections may besupported by 5GC 140 in some implementations.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1 , the LMF 120 may communicate with thegNBs 110 and/or with the ng-eNB 114 using a New Radio Location ProtocolA (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as,similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa)defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, with NRPPa messages being transferred betweena gNB 110 and the LMF 120, and/or between an ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120,via the AMF 115. As further illustrated in FIG. 1 , LMF 120 and UE 105may communicate using an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may bedefined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF 120 and UE 105 may also or insteadcommunicate using a New Radio Positioning Protocol (which may bereferred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or anextension of LPP. Here, LPP and/or NPP messages may be transferredbetween the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and a serving gNB110-1 or serving ng-eNB 114 for UE 105. For example, LPP and/or NPPmessages may be transferred between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using a5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP) and may betransferred between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using a 5G Non-AccessStratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and/or NPP protocol may be used tosupport positioning of UE 105 using UE assisted and/or UE based locationmethods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA and/or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol maybe used to support positioning of UE 105 using network based locationmethods such as E-CID (e.g., when used with measurements obtained by agNB 110 or ng-eNB 114) and/or may be used by LMF 120 to obtain locationrelated information from gNBs 110 and/or ng-eNBs 114, such as parametersdefining PRS transmission from gNBs 110 and/or ng-eNB 114.

With a UE assisted location method, UE 105 may obtain locationmeasurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF120) for computation of a location estimate for UE 105. For example, thelocation measurements may include techniques based on antenna beam angleof direction (AoD) to be described below. The location measurements mayalso include one or more of a Received Signal Strength Indication(RSSI), Round Trip signal propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal TimeDifference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and/orReference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) for gNBs 110, ng-eNB 114 and/ora WLAN access point (AP). The location measurements may also or insteadinclude measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase and/or carrierphase for SVs 190. With a UE based location method, UE 105 may obtainlocation measurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar tolocation measurements for a UE assisted location method) and may computea location of UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data receivedfrom a location server such as LMF 120 or broadcast by gNBs 110, ng-eNB114 or other base stations or APs). With a network based locationmethod, one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs 110 and/or ng-eNB 114) orAPs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT,RSRP, RSRQ, Timing Advance, etc.) for signals transmitted by UE 105,and/or may receive measurements obtained by UE 105, and may send themeasurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for computation of alocation estimate for UE 105.

Information provided by a gNB 110 and/or ng-eNB 114 to the LMF 120 usingNRPPa may include timing and configuration information for transmissionof location measurement signals from the gNB 110 and/or locationcoordinates for the gNB 110. The LMF 120 can then provide some or all ofthis information to the UE 105 as assistance data in an LPP and/or NPPmessage via the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140.

An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 may instructthe UE 105 to do any of a variety of things, depending on desiredfunctionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message could contain aninstruction for the UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS),WLAN, OTDOA, E-CID, etc. The UE 105 may send the measurements back tothe LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., inside a 5G NAS message) viathe serving gNB 110-1 (or serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.

As noted, while the communication system 100 is described in relation to5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented tosupport other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.,that are used for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such asthe UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and otherfunctionalities). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may beconfigured to control different air interfaces. For example, in someembodiments, 5GC 140 may be connected to a WLAN using a Non-3GPPInterWorking Function (N3IWF, not shown FIG. 1 ) in the 5GC 150. Forexample, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for UE 105 and maycomprise one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may connect to the WLANand to other elements in the 5GC 150 such as AMF 115. In some otherembodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may be replaced byother RANs and other core networks. For example, in an EPS, the NG-RAN135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN containing eNBs and the 5GC 140 may bereplaced by an EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) inplace of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC in place of the LMF 120 and a GMLC thatmay be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPain place of NRPPa to send and receive location information to and fromthe eNBs in the E-UTRAN and may use LPP to support positioning of UE105. In these other embodiments, positioning of a UE 105 may besupported in an analogous manner to that described herein for a 5Gnetwork with the difference that functions and procedures describedherein for gNBs 110, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115 and LMF 120 may, in some cases,apply instead to other network elements such eNBs, WiFi APs, an MME andan E-SMLC.

FIG. 2A is an example of a radio beam (hereinafter, “beam”) 200 that canbe used for location measurement. Beam 200 may generated by an antenna202 which can be part of, for example, gNB 110. Beam 200 may begenerated based on an antenna pattern which defines a pattern ofradiation of energy as a function of space. The pattern of radiation canbe defined based on one or more beam widths (e.g., beam width 204) alongdifferent dimensions and a corresponding beam center (e.g., beam center206) along a propagation path (e.g., propagation path 208) of the beam.Propagation path 208 can be associated with an angle of departure (AoD)from antenna 202 and with respect to a reference plane and/or axis. Inthe example of FIG. 2A, propagation path 208 may be associated with anAoD 210 with respect to an X-axis which is parallel with the horizon.The beam width may define a distance (from a corresponding beam center)where the power level of the beam drops by a pre-determined percentage(e.g., 50% or 3 dB) compared with the power level at the correspondingbeam center. In some examples, antenna 202 may include a number ofantenna elements each of which can transmit radio signals, and antenna202 can set an angle of departure of a beam by setting phase differencesof transmissions by each antenna elements. The phase differences canlead to constructive (or destructive) interferences among thetransmitted radio signals, to form a beam along a pre-determinedpropagation path based on the pre-set angle of departure.

Although FIG. 2A illustrates beam 200 as a two-dimensional beam, it isunderstood that beam 200 can be a three-dimensional beam, and theantenna pattern that defines beam 200 can be a three-dimensional antennapattern. FIG. 2B illustrates an example of beam 200 as athree-dimensional beam. In the example of FIG. 2B, beam 200 may bedefined by a combination of two two-dimensional antenna patterns. Afirst two-dimensional antenna pattern, and a first beam width 212, canbe defined on an elevation plane 214. Elevation plane 214 can be definedby the X-axis and a Z-axis and is perpendicular to the horizon. A secondtwo-dimensional antenna pattern, and a second beam width 216, can bedefined on an azimuth plane 218. Azimuth plane 218 can be defined by theY-axis and the Z-axis and can be perpendicular to elevation plane 214.Beam 200 can also be associated with a first angle of departure (denotedas θ) on elevation plane 214 and with reference to, for example, theY-axis (or the Z-axis). Beam 200 can also be associated with a secondangle of departure (denoted as ϕ) on azimuth plane 218 and withreference to, for example, the Y-axis (or the X-axis).

In a 5G network, antenna 202 may be configured to transmit a number ofbeams, with each beam having a different angle of departure (e.g.,different angles on the elevation plane and/or on the azimuth plane) andtargeted at a pre-determined geographical region. FIG. 2C illustrates anexample of a beam transmission scheme by antenna 202 in a 5G network. Inthe example of FIG. 2C, antenna 202 may transmit beams 230 a, 230 b, 230c, 230 d, 230 e, 230 f, 230 g, and 230 h to, respectively, one ofregions 240 a, 240 b, 240 c, 240 d, 240 e, 240 f, 240 g, and 240 h. Toavoid interference between the beams, the beam width of each beam can beadapted based on the total number of beams transmitted. For example, thebeam width of beams 230 a-230 h is typically smaller than a case whereantenna 202 only transmits beams 230 a-230 d to the cell area coveringregions 240 a-240 h. The beam width of beams 230 a-230 h can be furtherreduced if additional beams are also transmitted by antenna 202 to thecell area covering regions 240 a-240 h. With such arrangements, a mobiledevice located in one of the regions 240 a-240 h may receive only one ofbeams 230 a-230 h as a direct line-of-sight beam. For example, mobiledevice 250, located in region 240 a may receive radio beam 230 a as adirect line-of-sight beam (versus as a reflected or deflected beam) fromantenna 202. However, mobile device 250 is unlikely to receive radiobeam 230 b as a direct line-of-sight beam. Moreover, mobile device 252,located in region 240 d and also camping in the cell, may receive radiobeam 230 d as a direct line-of-sight beam from antenna 202.

Each of beams 230 a-230 h may carry various information. For example,each of beams 230 a-230 h may carry data representing a beam identifierassociated with the respective beam. Moreover, the beams may carrysignals used for radio frame synchronization and beam tracking, such asPrimary Synchronization Sequences (PSS), Secondary SynchronizationSequences (SSS), Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) signals, TrackingReference Signals (TRS), etc. Each beam may also be used to carryreference signals for location determination, such as PRS signals forOTDOA operations, other reference signals to support Timing Advance,RSRP, and RSRQ measurements for E-CID operations, etc. Each beam caninclude a sequence of radio frames to transmit PSS, SSS, PBCH, TRSsignals. Each radio frame may be associated with a period oftransmission, and can be organized into a number of subframes. Eachsubframe may be further divided into a number of symbol periods, witheach symbol period being used for transmission of a symbol. Each symbolcan be transmitted by modulating a set of subcarriers allocated asresource elements, with each subcarrier occupying a different frequencyband. Each of PSS, SSS, PBCH, and TRS signals can include a sequence ofsymbols formed by modulating a set of subcarriers in a set of symbolperiods.

As described above, the directional radio beams transmitted by basestations can be used to support various positioning operations, such asOTDOA and E-CID. FIG. 3A illustrates an example of an OTDOA operation.As shown in FIG. 3A, a UE 302 (represented by a star in FIG. 3A) canreceive beam 304 carrying a reference signal from gNB 306, a beam 314carrying a reference signal from gNB 316, and a beam 324 carrying areference signal from gNB 326. The reference signals carried by thebeams can include position measurement signals, such as PRS signals. UE302 can measure three time-of-arrivals (TOA) τ₁, τ₂, and τ₃ of thereference signals received from, respectively, beams 304, 314, and 324to perform RSTD measurement. To perform RSTD measurement, one of the TOA(e.g., τ₁) can be selected as a reference, and two time differencest_(2,1) (which represents τ₂−τ₁) and t_(3,1) (which represents τ₃−τ₁)can be determined. Each time difference can represent a hyperbola, andthe point at which the two hyperbolas (e.g., of t_(2,1) and t_(3,1))intersects can represent an estimated location of UE 302.

Each time difference measurement can have certain uncertainty, which isrepresented by the dotted lines in FIG. 3A. One potential source ofuncertainty can come from the finite beam width. For example, due tofinite beam width of beam 304, UE 302 can detect the same TOA τ₁ atlocations 330 and 332, which contribute to the uncertainty in theestimation of location of UE 302. By reducing the beam width of beam304, the distance between locations 330 and 332 can shrink, and theuncertainty of location estimation of UE 302 can be reduced. As to bedescribed in more details below, PRS measurements can be prioritized forcells that support radio beams with narrower beam widths to improve theaccuracy of location determination operations.

FIG. 3B is an example of the structure of a LTE subframe sequence ofposition measurement signals (e.g., PRS). A similar subframe sequencestructure can also be used in the system of FIG. 1 and can betransmitted using the radio beams of FIG. 2A-FIG. 2C and of FIG. 3A. InFIG. 3B, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on an X axis) with timeincreasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically(e.g., on a Y axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) frombottom to top, as illustrated. As shown in FIG. 3B, downlink and uplinkLTE Radio Frames 340 can be 10 ms duration each. For downlink FrequencyDivision Duplex (FDD) mode, Radio Frames 310 are organized into tensubframes 342 of 1 ms duration each. Each subframe 342 comprises twoslots 344, each of 0.5 ms duration. Each slot of slots 344 may includeseven symbol periods (in the case of normal cyclic prefix (NCP) as shownin FIG. 3B) or six symbol periods (in the case of extended cyclic prefix(ECP)), with each symbol period for transmission of a symbol. Up to 12symbols (in the case of ECP) or 14 symbols (in the case of NCP) can betransmitted within subframe 342. It is understood that in a 5G network,the number of symbols in one slot can include a different number (otherthan six or seven) of symbol periods, and a pre-determined pattern ofthe symbols transmitted in the symbol periods can represent a positionmeasurement signal in the 5G network.

In the frequency domain, the available bandwidth may be divided intouniformly spaced orthogonal subcarriers 346. For example, for a normallength cyclic prefix using 15 kHz spacing, subcarriers 346 may begrouped into a group of 12 subcarriers. Each grouping, which comprises12 subcarriers 346, in FIG. 3B, is termed a resource block and, in theexample above, the number of subcarriers in the resource block may bewritten as N_(SC) ^(RB)=12. For a given channel bandwidth, the number ofavailable resource blocks on each channel 222, which is also called thetransmission bandwidth configuration, is indicated as N_(RB) ^(DL) 352.For example, for a 3 MHz channel bandwidth in the above example, thenumber of available resource blocks on each channel 352 is given byN_(SC) ^(DL)=15. It is understood that in a 5G network, a resource blockcan include a different number (other than 12 or 15) of subcarriers, andthe subcarriers can occur a different channel bandwidth than, forexample, the 3 MHz channel bandwidth discussed above.

A position reference signal (PRS), which has been defined in 3GPP LTERelease-9 and later releases, may be transmitted by an eNB afterappropriate configuration (e.g., by an Operations and Maintenance (O&M)server). A PRS may be transmitted in downlink transmissions as abroadcast signal directed to all UEs within a radio range from the eNB,and the PRS can be used by the UEs as a position measurement signal forposition determination. A PRS can be transmitted in special positioningsubframes that are grouped into positioning occasions. For example, inLTE, a PRS positioning occasion can comprise positioning subframes 348,which can include a number N_(PRS) of consecutive positioning subframeswhere the number N_(PRS) may be between 1 and 160 (e.g., may include thevalues 1, 2, 4 and 6 as well as other values). The time of arrival (TOA)can be determined based on, for example, when the UE receives the startof a PRS subframe.

The PRS positioning occasions may occur periodically at intervals 350,denoted by a number T_(PRS), of millisecond (or subframe) intervalswhere T_(PRS) may equal 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, or 1280. As anexample, FIG. 3B illustrates a periodicity of positioning occasionswhere N_(PRS) equals 4 and T_(PRS) is greater than or equal to 20. Insome embodiments, T_(PRS) may be measured in terms of the number ofsubframes between the start of consecutive positioning occasions. UE canreceive PRS scheduling information from a location server as part ofAssistance Data, which indicates the times when the PRS positioningoccasions are scheduled to occur, and the durations of the PRSpositioning occasions. The UE can perform TOA measurement on one or morepositioning occasions at the scheduled times.

In 5G network, the duration of a PRS positioning occasion (representedby N_(PRS)) and the period between each PRS positioning occasion(represented by T_(PRS)) can be adjusted dynamically (e.g., based on arequest of a location server, a UE, etc.) to implement an “On DemandPRS” scheme. Transmitting PRS through static scheduling (e.g., having afixed T_(PRS) and N_(PRS)) can lead to inefficient usage of resourceblocks. For example, PRS might be used for positioning during emergencycalls, asset tracking and other applications which might not need PRSfor a significant portion of time. For those applications, it isadvantageous to dynamically alter the PRS scheduling. For example, forapplications that do not need PRS for a significant portion of time(e.g., emergency calls), the duration of a PRS positioning occasion canbe reduced, the period between PRS positioning occasions can beincreased, etc., to free up the resource blocks for other applications.Moreover, as to be described in more details below, base stations thattransmitted radio beams of narrower beam widths can be controlled toincrease the duration of PRS positioning occasions, reduce the periodbetween PRS positioning occasions, allocate more bandwidth (e.g., byallocating more resource blocks) for the PRS symbol transmission, etc.Such arrangements can improve the likelihood that the UE can perform asufficient number of PRS signal measurements with base stations thatsupport more accurate measurements (by supporting narrower radio beams),which can improve the efficiency and accuracy of the locationdetermination operation.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of E-CID operation, which can also besupported by directional radio beams transmitted by a base station. Asshown in FIG. 4 , UE 400 is in a cell 402 served by a base station 404.As part of E-CID operation, signal measurements can be made by basestation 404 and/or by UE 400 to determine a distance d between UE 400and base station 404, and an angle of arrival (AoA) of the radio beam atUE 400 on a horizontal plane.

There are different ways by which the distance d can be measured, suchas by measuring the power of a signal received at the UE from the basestation, to determine a degree of attenuation (e.g., due to path loss,signal fading, etc.) of the signal power. The degree of attenuation canbe used to determine the distance d. Alternatively, a propagation delaybetween the UE and the base station can also be measured, and thepropagation delay can also be used to determine the distance d. Forexample, UE 400 can measure Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP),which is the average power of a resource element that carries a cellspecific Reference Signal (RS) received at the UE. Another measurementthat UE 400 can perform is Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ),which can be based on a ratio between RSRP and average total receivedpower (e.g., based on Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)). UE 400can perform the RSRP and/or RSRQ measurements and report themeasurements results back to a base station 404. As another example, tomeasure propagation delay, base station 404 can measure a timedifference in the transmission and reception of a subframe as part ofTiming Advance measurement. Base station 404 may transmit a signal to UE400 which includes a time of transmission of the signal. UE 400, uponreceiving the signal from base station 404, can also determine a time ofreception of the signal, and report the time of reception back to basestation 404. Base station 404 can determine the time difference betweenthe time of transmission of the signal and the time of reception of thesignal. The time difference can represent the Timing Advancemeasurement. Base station 404 can transmit the timing Advancemeasurement in a Timing Advance (TA) command to UE 400 to synchronizeuplink timing with downlink transmission from base station 404.

In addition, base station 404 can also measure AoA with based on theangle of departure (AoD) of a directional radio beam transmitted to UE400. For example, base station 404 determines that a radio beam ofcertain AoD is transmitted to UE 400 as part of uplink transmission, andreceives a report back from UE 400 that the UE has received the radiobeam, base station 404 can determine the AoA of the radio beam at the UEas identical to the AoD of the same radio beam at base station 404.

In some examples, base station 404 can transmit the RSRP, RSRQ, andTiming Advance measurements, as well as the AoA measurement results, toa location server in an E-CID Measurement Initiation Response which canbe part of LPPa and/or NRPPa procedure. In some examples, UE 400 canalso report some the measurements results (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, andreceive-transmit time difference) directly to the location server in anE-CID-SignalMeasurementInformation message which can be part of LPPand/or NRPP procedure. The location server can then estimate a locationof UE 400 based on a relative location of UE 400 with respect to basestation 404 (e.g., based on AoA and distance estimated from RSRP, RSRQ,and/or Timing Advance measurements), as well as the known location ofbase station 440.

Similar to OTDOA operation, the accuracy of E-CID operation can also beaffected by the beam width of the radio beams used for the measurement.For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, instead of receiving the central part420 of the radio beam, UE 400 receives the edge part 422 of the radiobeam. Due to the finite beam width, the actual angle of arrival is AoA′is different from AoA as well as AoD. Using AoD to estimate thedirection of UE 400 with respect to base station 404 can lead to error.Moreover, due to the finite beam width, UE 400 may also obtain similarRSRP, RSRQ, and/or Timing Advance measurement results at differentlocations with the cell. By reducing the beam width, the uncertaintiesin the location determination using E-CID operations can be reduced. Asto be described in more details below, E-CID operation can also beprioritized for cells that support radio beams with narrower beam widthsto improve the accuracy of location determination operations.

In addition to beam width and/or number of radio beams information, itcan also be advantageous for a UE to have other information about theradio beams transmitted by a base station, such as the direction, thetarget area, etc. Such information can be useful for the UE to determinewhether it is likely to receive a radio beam from the base station. Ifthe UE determines that it is unlikely to receive a radio beam from thebase station, the UE can skip the signal measurement operations (forOTDOA, for E-CID, etc.) with that base station and perform the signalmeasurement operations with other base stations instead. With sucharrangements, the efficiency of location determination operation can beimproved.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of UE skipping signal measurementoperations with a base station based on the information of the radiobeams transmitted by the base station. As shown in FIG. 5 , base station500 transmits four radio beams 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d at AoDsof, respectively, 60°, 120°, 240°, and 300° (e.g., in acounter-clockwise direction with respect to axis 504). UE 510 may storeinformation 512 that maps the beam IDs of radio beams transmitted bybase station 500 (502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d) to the AoDs 60°, 120°,240°, and 300°. Information 512 also includes the location of basestation 500. UE 510 may obtain a coarse measurement of its own location(e.g., based on GPS, WiFi, etc.). Based on the coarse measurement, aswell as the location of base station 500 and the AoDs of the radio beamsfrom information 512, UE 510 can determine whether it is likely toreceive any of radio beams 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, or 502 d. In the exampleof FIG. 5 , based on the coarse measurement of its location, UE 510 maydetermine that it is unlikely to receive any of radio beams 502 a, 502b, 502 c, or 502 d, and skip the signal measurement operations with basestation 500.

FIG. 6A is a diagram of communication system 600 may utilize radio beamsupport according to some embodiments. information to support locationdetermination operation in a 5G network, according to some embodiments.As shown in FIG. 6A, a location server 602 (e.g., which can include orbe part of LMF 120 of FIG. 1 ) can obtain beam support information 604from gNBs 608 and/or from maintenance operations 610 (e.g., programmingoperations). As to be discussed in more details below, location server602 can configure a location determination operation for a UE 612 basedon beam support information 604. For example, location server 602 canselect, based on beam support information 604, a subset of gNBs 608 toperform the location determination operation with UE 612. As anotherexample, location server 602 can also transmit beam support information604 (and/or derived information) to UE 612 as part of Assistance Data614 to enable or control UE 612 to perform the location determinationoperation with the subset of gNBs 608. In some examples, UE 612 can alsoreceive beam support information 604 directly from gNBs 608.

Beam support information 604 can come in various forms. In someexamples, beam support information 604 for a cell can include a numberthat indicates a number of radio beams supported in that cell, whichenables location server 602 and/or UE 612 to determine, for example, therelative beam width of radio beams at different cells. In some examples,beam support information 604 can include information to identify eachradio beam supported at the cell. For example, beam support information604 can include a bitmap, with each bit corresponding to a particularradio beam, and the value of each bit can indicate whether the radiobeam is supported in that cell. In some examples, beam supportinformation 604 can include beam width information (e.g., a first beamwidth measured in the elevation plane and a second beam width measuredin the azimuth plane), which can directly provide the beam widthinformation of each cell to location server 602 and/or UE 612.

There are different ways by which location server 602 can obtain beamsupport information 604 from gNBs 608. In some examples, location server602 can transmit a query to gNBs 608 using NRPPa procedures to requestbeam support information 604. In some examples, as part of E-CIDLocation Information Transfer under the NRPPa procedures, locationserver 602 can transmit a message for an E-CID measurement initiationrequest to each of gNBs 608 to initiate E-CID operations with the gNBs,and the message may include an information element (IE) for beam supportinformation. An excerpt of an example E-CID measurement initiationrequest message 620 is shown in FIG. 6B. As shown in FIG. 6B, E-CIDmeasurement initiation request message 620 includes an IE 622 labelled“Actual Beam Support.” IE 622 can be a 6-bit number that ranges between1-64 and can indicate a number of radio beams supported by a cell, withthe range being set based on, for example, the 5G specification. Inaddition, E-CID measurement initiation request message 620 also includesan IE 624 labelled “Measurement Quantities Item.” IEE 624 can include aset of measurements which location server 602 has selected and to beperformed by the recipient gNB. The measurements may include, forexample, reporting of a cell identifier of the cell, a set ofidentifiers of the radio beams supported by the cell, Angle of Arrival(AoA), Timing Advance, RSRP, RSRQ, etc. for each beam identified by theset of identifiers. As part of the E-CID Location Information Transfer,gNB may receive E-CID measurement initiation request message 620, parsethe message to identify the IE requested by location server 602, andprovide the data for the requested IE (e.g., the number of radio beamssupported by the cell, and the results of the requested measurements) inan E-CID measurement initiation response message back to location server602.

In some examples, as part of OTDOA Information Transfer under the NRPPaprocedures, location server 602 can transmit a message for an OTDOAinformation request to each of gNBs 608 to initiate OTDOA operationswith the gNBs, and the message may also include an information element(IE) for beam support information. An excerpt of an example OTDOAinformation request message 640 is shown in FIG. 6C. As shown in FIG.6C, OTDOA information request message 640 includes an IE 642 labelled“Actual Beam Support.” IE 642 can be a 6-bit number that ranges between1-64 and can indicate a number of radio beams supported by a cell, withthe range being set based on, for example, the 5G specification. As partof the OTDOA Information Transfer, gNB may receive OTDOA informationrequest message 640, parse the message to identify IE 642, and providethe number of radio beams information to location server 602 in an OTDOAinformation response message.

In addition, as described above, UE 612 can also receive beam supportinformation 604 directly from gNBs 608 in various ways. In someexamples, UE 612 may receive beam support information 604 whileestablishing or reconfiguring a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connectionwith one of gNBs 608. In some examples, UE 612 may also receivebroadcast messages (e.g., System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1)messages) from gNBs 608. FIG. 6D illustrates an excerpt of an exampleSIB1/RRC Reconfig message 650. As shown in FIG. 6D, SIB1/RRC Reconfigmessage 650 includes an IE 652 labelled “PositionInBurstLongBitmap.” IE652 can be in the form of a 64-bit bitmap, with each bitrepresenting/identifying a radio beam. A bit value of “1” can indicatethat the radio beam represented by the bit is transmitted in the cell,whereas a bit value of “0” can indicate that the radio beam representedby it is not transmitted in the cell. The bitmap information can becombined with additional information including, for example, the angleof arrival (AoA) of each beam represented in the bitmap, a coarseestimate of the present location of the UE, known location of the basestation that serve the cell, etc., to determine whether a UE is likelyto receive some or all of the radio beams transmitted in the cell, asdescribed above. In the example of FIG. 6D, the cell transmits all 64radio beams allowed under the 5G specification. In some examples, the“PositionInBurstLongBitmap” bitmap can be included in E-CID measurementinitiation request/response message and in OTDOA informationrequest/response message in lieu of or in addition to the 6-bit “ActualBeam Support” number.

In some examples (not shown in FIG. 6B-FIG. 6D), E-CID measurementinitiation request/response messages, OTDOA information request/responsemessages, SIB1/RRC Reconfig messages, or other messages sent by gNBs 608to the location server may also include other forms of beam supportinformation 604. For example, beam support information 604 may includebeam width information. For example, these messages can include a firstbeam width (measured in the elevation plane) and a second beam width(measured in the azimuth plane) of each of the beams supported in acell. In some examples, gNBs 608 may also transmit PRS codebookinformation (which can be part of beam support information 604) whichencapsulates specifically the beams which are enabled along specificelevation and azimuth angles.

After receiving beam support information 604 from each of gNBs 608,location server 602 and/or UE 612 can store a data structure (e.g., amapping table) that maps each cell served by gNBs 608 to thecorresponding beam support information 604. In some examples, the cellsin the data structure can be ranked based on, for example, the number ofbeams supported in each cell, the beam width of the beams in each cell,the number of beams a UE is likely to receive, etc. For example, the topranked cells can have the highest number of beams and/or narrowest beamwidth among the cells in the data structure. Location server 602 and/orUE 612 can configure a location determination operation (e.g., OTDOAoperation, E-CID operation, etc.) based on a result of the ranking.

FIG. 7A-FIG. 7D illustrate examples of location determination operationsadapted based on support information 604. In FIG. 7A, location server602 can transmit Assistance Data 614 to UE 612. Assuming that UE 612 hasa limited time allocated for performing OTDOA operations and can performmeasurements with no more than three base stations within the allocatedtime, location server 602 can rank the beam support information andselect the top three cells (e.g., served by gNBs 608 a, 608 b, and 608c) having the highest number of beams (or narrowest beam width) amonggNB 608, and include the three cells in Assistance Data 614, whichenables UE 612 to only perform RSTD measurements with gNBs 608 a, 608 b,and 608 c, and not to perform RSTD measurements with other gNBs 608(e.g., gNBs 608 d and 608 e), for better localization and to reduceposition uncertainty as explained above. In some examples, locationserver 602 may also determine an approximate location of UE 612 withrespect to the base stations of the cells. Based on the beam supportinformation which indicate the beams supported at each cell, and basedon the approximate location of UE 612 with respect to the base stationsof these cells, location server 602 can select a set of cells for whichbeams are enabled at the approximate direction/location of UE 612, suchthat UE 612 only performs signals measurements with these cells. In someexamples, UE 612 can also include beam support information 604 of all ofthe cells served by gNBs 608 in Assistance Data 614, and UE 612 canperform the ranking and select the top three cells to perform the RSTDmeasurements. After performing the RSTD measurements, UE 612 can includethe RSTD measurement results in an OTDOA-SignalMeasurementInformationmessage 702 back to location server 602, which can then determine alocation of UE 612 based on the RSTD measurement results.

FIG. 7B illustrates another example of location determination operationsadapted based on support information 604. As shown in FIG. 7B, locationserver 602 can select a subset of gNBs 608 based on the ranking, andrequest the subset of gNBs 608 to perform E-CID operations with UE 612.For example, based on the ranking, location server 602 can transmitE-CID measurement initiation request messages 720 to gNBs 608 a, 608 b,and 608 c, with each message including the item to be measured (e.g.,Angle of Arrival (AoA), Timing Advance, RSRP, RSRQ, etc.). Locationserver 602 also does not transmit E-CID measurement initiation requestmessages 720 to other gNBs 608 (e.g., gNBs 608 d and 608 e).Subsequently, gNBs 608 a, 608 b, and 608 c can perform the requestedmeasurements with UE 612, receive measurement reports 722 from UE 612,and include the measurement results in E-CID measurement initiationresponse messages 724 back to location server 602, which can thendetermine a location of UE 612 based on the E-CID measurement results.

FIG. 7C illustrates another example of location determination operationsadapted based on support information 604. As shown in FIG. 7C, at leastone of location server 602 or UE 612 can select a cell (e.g., served bygNB 608 a) that supports a relatively high number of radio beams (orsupports radio beams of relatively narrow beam width) and, as part of“On Demand PRS” operation, request the selected cell to updatescheduling of PRS transmission. The updating can be targeted atmaximizing the quality of RSTD measurements performed by UE 612 withinan allocated time for the measurements, to improve the efficiency andaccuracy of the OTDOA operation. The updating to the scheduling of PRStransmission can include, for example, increasing the duration of PRSpositioning occasions, reducing the period between PRS positioningoccasions, allocating more bandwidth (e.g., by allocating more resourceblocks) for the PRS symbol transmission, etc. Location server 602 canconfigure the PRS scheduling at gNB 608 a via PRS schedulingconfiguration 732, whereas UE 612 can transmit a PRS scheduling updaterequest 734 to gNB 608 a, to update the PRS scheduling.

In some examples, UE 612 can cache the beam support information of thecells (e.g., serving cells, neighboring cells, etc.) it has measured inthe past and can adapt the location determination operations withoutfurther assistance from, for example, location server 602. For example,UE 612 may have received the beam support information from locationserver 602 and/or SIB1 broadcast from gNBs 608 in the past and cache thebeam support information. UE 612 can adapt the location determinationoperations (e.g., E-CID operations, OTDOA operations, etc.) based on thecached beam support information. For example, as shown in FIG. 7D, basedon the cached beam support information, UE 612 can rank the top threecells that support the highest number of radio beams, narrowest radiobeams, etc., and select gNBs 608 a, 608 b, and 608 c to perform RSTDand/or ECID measurements, while skipping the measurements with gNBs 608d and 608 e.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 800 of performing alocation measurement at a location server, according to someembodiments. FIG. 8 illustrates the functionality of a location serveraccording to aspects of embodiments described above. According to someembodiments, functionality of one or more blocks illustrated in FIG. 8may be performed by a location server (e.g., location server 602). Meansfor performing these functions may include software and/or hardwarecomponents of location server 602, as illustrated in FIG. 11 anddescribed in more detail below.

At block 802, the functionality includes obtaining beam supportinformation of a plurality of cells. There are various ways of obtainingbeam support information. For example, the location server can transmita query to each of a set of base stations (e.g., gNBs 608) using NRPPaprocedures to request for the beam support information. In someexamples, as part of E-CID Location Information Transfer under the NRPPaprocedures, the location server can transmit a message for an E-CIDmeasurement initiation request to each base station to initiate E-CIDoperations with the base stations, and the message may include aninformation element (IE) for the beam support information. In someexamples, as part of OTDOA Information Transfer under the NRPPaprocedures, the location server can transmit a message for an OTDOAinformation request to the base stations to initiate OTDOA operationswith the base stations, and the message may also include an informationelement (IE) for the beam support information. Means for performing thefunctions at block 802 may comprise a bus 1105, processing unit(s) 1110,wireless communication interface 1133, memory 1135, and/or otherhardware and/or software components of location server 602 asillustrated in FIG. 11 and described in more detail below.

At block 804, the functionality includes configuring a locationdetermination operation for a mobile device based on the beam supportinformation, the location determination operation comprisingmeasurements of one or more signals to be performed by at least one ofthe mobile device or one or more cells of the plurality of cells and mayinclude, for example, an OTDOA operation, an E-CID operation, etc.

There are various ways by which the location server can configure thelocation determination operation. In some examples, the location servercan generate configuration data (e.g., Assistance Data) based on thebeam support information at sub-block 804 a. The configuration data mayinclude the number of radio beams supported at each cell, the beamwidths of the radio beams supported at each cell, identification of theradio beams supported at each cell, etc. The UE can select the subset ofthe cells supporting the highest number of beams the UE is likely toreceive (e.g., based on the AoAs of the beams, a coarse estimate of theUE's present location, known location of the base station, etc.) amongthe cells based on the configuration data to perform the signalmeasurements. The UE may also select the subset of the cells supportingbeams with the narrowest beam widths among the cells based on theconfiguration data to perform the signal measurements. In some examples,the location server can also select the subset of the cells based on thebeam support information and include the subset of the cells in theconfiguration data. The location server can send the configuration datato the mobile device at sub-block 804 b, to enable the mobile device toperform signal measurements (e.g., PRS signal measurements, E-CIDmeasurements, etc.) with a subset of cells.

In some examples, the location server can select a subset of the cellsto perform location measurements with a UE based on the beam supportinformation of the cells, at sub-block 804 c. In some examples, thelocation server can transmit a signal measurement request (e.g., anE-CID measurement initiation response message) to the subset of thecells to initiate signal measurements (e.g., RSRP/RSRQ measurement,Timing Advance measurements, etc.) at the subset of cells, at sub-block804 d. In some examples, the location server can also configure thesubset of the cells to update the transmission schedules of positioningreference signals (PRS) (e.g., by increasing the duration of thesignals, reducing the periods between the signals, allocating additionalcarrier bandwidths to transmit the signals, etc.), as part of “On-DemandPRS” operation, at sub-block 804 e.

Means for performing the functions at block 804, including sub-blocks804 a-804 e, may comprise bus 1105, processing unit(s) 1110, wirelesscommunication interface 1133, memory 1135, and/or other hardware and/orsoftware components of location server 602 as illustrated in FIG. 11 anddescribed in more detail below.

At block 806, the functionality includes receiving results of themeasurements of the one or more signals. The results can be receivedfrom, for example, the mobile device (e.g., RSTD measurements) and/orthe base stations of the one or more cells (e.g., AoA measurements,RSRP/RSRQ measurement, Timing Advance measurements, etc.). Means forperforming the functions at block 806 may comprise bus 1105, processingunit(s) 1110, wireless communication interface 1133, memory 1135, and/orother hardware and/or software components of location server 602 asillustrated in FIG. 11 and described in more detail below.

At block 808, the functionality includes determining a location of themobile device based on the results of the measurements of the one ormore signals, based on the techniques described above in FIG. 3A-FIG.5B. Means for performing the functions at block 802 may comprise a bus1105, processing unit(s) 1110, memory 1135, and/or other hardware and/orsoftware components of location server 602 as illustrated in FIG. 11 anddescribed in more detail below.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 900 of performing alocation measurement at a mobile device (e.g., UE 612), according tosome embodiments. FIG. 9 illustrates the functionality of a mobiledevice according to aspects of embodiments described above. According tosome embodiments, functionality of one or more blocks illustrated inFIG. 9 may be performed by a mobile device (e.g., UE 612). Means forperforming these functions may include software and/or hardwarecomponents of UE 612 as illustrated in FIG. 10 and described in moredetail below.

At block 902, the functionality includes obtaining beam supportinformation of a plurality of cells. The mobile device may receive thebeam support information may via, for example, configuration data (e.g.,Assistance Data) from a location server, SIB1 broadcast and/or RRCReconfig message from a base station, etc. Means for performing thefunctions at block 902 may comprise a bus 1005, processing unit(s) 1010,wireless communication interface 1130, memory 1160, and/or otherhardware and/or software components of UE 612 as illustrated in FIG. 10and described in more detail below.

At block 904, the functionality includes performing measurements of oneor more signals at the mobile device based on the beam supportinformation of the plurality of cells to support a locationdetermination operation for the mobile device. There are various ways bywhich the mobile device can perform the measurements based on the beamsupport information. For example, the mobile device can select a subsetof cells to perform the measurements of the one or more signals for thelocation determination operation, at sub-block 904 a. Specifically, themobile device can select the subset of the cells supporting the highestnumber of beams the mobile device is likely to receive (e.g., based onthe AoAs of the beams, a coarse estimate of the mobile device's presentlocation from GPS signals, known location of the base station, etc.)among the cells based on the configuration data to perform the signalmeasurements. The mobile device may also select the subset of the cellssupporting beams with the narrowest beam widths among the cells based onthe configuration data to perform the signal measurements. As anotherexample, the mobile device can transmit, based on the beam supportinformation of the cells, a request to the subset of the cells to updatethe transmission schedule of PRS (e.g., by increasing the duration ofthe signals, reducing the periods between the signals, allocatingadditional carrier bandwidths to transmit the signals, etc.), as part of“On-Demand PRS” operation, at sub-block 904 b. Means for performing thefunctions at block 904 may comprise bus 1005, processing unit(s) 1010,wireless communication interface 1030, memory 1060, GNSS receiver 1080,and/or other hardware and/or software components of UE 612 asillustrated in FIG. 10 and described in more detail below.

At block 906, the functionality includes transmitting results of themeasurements to support the location determination operation. The mobiledevice may transmit the results to a location server (e.g., OTDOAoperation) or to the base station it operates with (e.g., RSRQ and/orRSRP measurements for E-CID operation). Means for performing thefunctions at block 906 may comprise bus 1005, processing unit(s) 1010,wireless communication interface 1030, memory 1060, GNSS receiver 1080,and/or other hardware and/or software components of UE 612 asillustrated in FIG. 10 and described in more detail below.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of UE 612 (and UE 105 of FIG. 1 ),which can be utilized as described herein above (e.g., in associationwith FIGS. 1-9 ). For example, UE 612 can perform one or more of thefunctions of method 900 of FIG. 9 . It should be noted that FIG. 10 ismeant only to provide a generalized illustration of various components,any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. It can be notedthat, in some instances, components illustrated by FIG. 10 can belocalized to a single physical device and/or distributed among variousnetworked devices, which may be disposed at different physical locations(e.g., located at different parts of a user's body, in which case thecomponents may be communicatively connected via a Personal Area Network(PAN) and/or other means).

UE 612 is shown comprising hardware elements that can be electricallycoupled via a bus 1005 (or may otherwise be in communication, asappropriate). The hardware elements may include a processing unit(s)1010 which can include without limitation one or more general-purposeprocessors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as digitalsignal processing (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors,application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and/or the like),and/or other processing structure or means. As shown in FIG. 10 , someembodiments may have a separate DSP 1020, depending on desiredfunctionality. Location determination and/or other determinations basedon wireless communication may be provided in the processing unit(s) 1010and/or wireless communication interface 1030 (discussed below). UE 612also can include one or more input devices 1070, which can includewithout limitation a touch screen, a touch pad, microphone, button(s),dial(s), switch(es), and/or the like; and one or more output devices1015, which can include without limitation a display, light emittingdiode (LED), speakers, and/or the like.

UE 612 might also include a wireless communication interface 1030, whichmay comprise without limitation a modem, a network card, an infraredcommunication device, a wireless communication device, and/or a chipset(such as a Bluetooth® device, an IEEE 802.11 device, an IEEE 802.15.4device, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMax device, cellular communicationfacilities, etc.), and/or the like, which may enable to the UE 612/UE105 to communicate via the networks described above with regard to FIG.1 . The wireless communication interface 1030 may permit data to becommunicated with a network, eNBs, gNBs, and/or other networkcomponents, computer systems, and/or any other electronic devicesdescribed herein. The communication can be carried out via one or morewireless communication antenna(s) 1032 that send and/or receive wirelesssignals 1034.

Depending on desired functionality, the wireless communication interface1030 may comprise separate transceivers to communicate with basestations (e.g., eNBs and gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers, suchas wireless devices and access points. UE 612 may communicate withdifferent data networks that may comprise various network types. Forexample, a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) may be a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, anOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, aSingle-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) network, aWiMax (IEEE 802.16), and so on. A CDMA network may implement one or moreradio access technologies (RATs) such as cdma2000, Wideband-CDMA(W-CDMA), and so on. Cdma2000 includes IS-95, IS-2000, and/or IS-856standards. A TDMA network may implement Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), orsome other RAT. An OFDMA network may employ LTE, LTE Advanced, and soon. 5G, LTE, LTE Advanced, GSM, and W-CDMA are described in documentsfrom 3GPP. Cdma2000 is described in documents from a consortium named“3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documentsare publicly available. A wireless local area network (WLAN) may also bean IEEE 802.11x network, and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) maybe a Bluetooth network, an IEEE 802.15x, or some other type of network.The techniques described herein may also be used for any combination ofWWAN, WLAN and/or WPAN.

UE 612 can further include sensor(s) 1040. Such sensors may comprise,without limitation, one or more inertial sensors (e.g.,accelerometer(s), gyroscope(s), and or other IMUs), camera(s),magnetometer(s), altimeter(s), microphone(s), proximity sensor(s), lightsensor(s), and the like, some of which may be used to complement and/orfacilitate the location determination described herein.

Embodiments of UE 612 may also include a GNSS receiver 1080 capable ofreceiving signals 1084 from one or more GNSS satellites (e.g., SVs 190)using an GNSS antenna 1082. Such positioning can be utilized tocomplement and/or incorporate the techniques described herein. The GNSSreceiver 1080 can extract a location of UE 612, using conventionaltechniques, from GNSS SVs of a GNSS system, such as Global PositioningSystem (GPS), Galileo, Glonass, Compass, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System(QZSS) over Japan, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)over India, Beidou over China, and/or the like. Moreover, the GNSSreceiver 1080 can be used various augmentation systems (e.g., aSatellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS)) that may be associated withor otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and/or regionalnavigation satellite systems. By way of example but not limitation, anSBAS may include an augmentation system(s) that provides integrityinformation, differential corrections, etc., such as, e.g., Wide AreaAugmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation OverlayService (EGNOS), Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS),GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigationsystem (GAGAN), and/or the like. Thus, as used herein a GNSS may includeany combination of one or more global and/or regional navigationsatellite systems and/or augmentation systems, and GNSS signals mayinclude GNSS, GNSS-like, and/or other signals associated with such oneor more GNSS.

UE 612 may further include and/or be in communication with a memory1060. Memory 1060 can include, without limitation, local and/or networkaccessible storage, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storagedevice, a solid-state storage device, such as a random access memory(“RAM”), and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable,flash-updateable, and/or the like. Such storage devices may beconfigured to implement any appropriate data stores, including withoutlimitation, various file systems, database structures, and/or the like.

Memory 1060 of the UE 105 also can comprise software elements (not shownin FIG. 10 ), including an operating system, device drivers, executablelibraries, and/or other code, such as one or more application programs,which may comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments,and/or may be designed to implement methods, and/or configure systems,provided by other embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way ofexample, one or more procedures described with respect to the method(s)discussed above may be implemented as code and/or instructionsexecutable by UE 612 (and/or processing unit(s) 1010 or DSP 1020 withinUE 612). In an aspect, then, such code and/or instructions can be usedto configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device)to perform one or more operations in accordance with the describedmethods.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system 1100, which maybe utilized and/or incorporated into one or more components of acommunication system (e.g., communication system 100 of FIG. 1 ),including various components a 5G network, including the 5G RAN and 5GC,and/or similar components of other network types, and may includelocation server 602. FIG. 11 provides a schematic illustration of oneembodiment of a computer system 1100 that can perform the methodsprovided by various other embodiments, such as the method described inrelation to FIG. 8 . It should be noted that FIG. 11 is meant only toprovide a generalized illustration of various components, any or all ofwhich may be utilized as appropriate. FIG. 11 , therefore, broadlyillustrates how individual system elements may be implemented in arelatively separated or relatively more integrated manner. In addition,it can be noted that components illustrated by FIG. 11 can be localizedto a single device and/or distributed among various networked devices,which may be disposed at different physical or geographical locations.In some embodiments, computer system 1100 may correspond to an LMF 120,a gNB 110 (e.g., gNB 110-1), an eNB, an E-SMLC, a SUPL SLP and/or someother type of location-capable device.

Computer system 1100 is shown comprising hardware elements that can beelectrically coupled via a bus 1105 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may includeprocessing unit(s) 1110, which can include without limitation one ormore general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors(such as digital signal processing chips, graphics accelerationprocessors, and/or the like), and/or other processing structure, whichcan be configured to perform one or more of the methods describedherein, including the method described in relation to FIG. 9 . Thecomputer system 1100 also can include one or more input devices 1115,which can include without limitation a mouse, a keyboard, a camera, amicrophone, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 1120, whichcan include without limitation a display device, a printer, and/or thelike.

Computer system 1100 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 1125, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a randomaccess memory (“RAM”), and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable, and/or the like. Such storage devicesmay be configured to implement any appropriate data stores, includingwithout limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

Computer system 1100 may also include a communications subsystem 1130,which can include support of wireline communication technologies and/orwireless communication technologies (in some embodiments) managed andcontrolled by a wireless communication interface 1133. Thecommunications subsystem 1130 may include a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset, and/or the like. Thecommunications subsystem 1130 may include one or more input and/oroutput communication interfaces, such as the wireless communicationinterface 1133, to permit data to be exchanged with a network, mobiledevices, other computer systems, and/or any other electronic devicesdescribed herein. Note that the terms “mobile device” and “UE” are usedinterchangeably herein to refer to any mobile communications device suchas, but not limited to, mobile phones, smartphones, wearable devices,mobile computing devices (e.g., laptops, PDAs, tablets), embeddedmodems, and automotive and other vehicular computing devices.

In many embodiments, computer system 1100 will further comprise aworking memory 1135, which can include a RAM and/or or ROM device.Software elements, shown as being located within the working memory1135, can include an operating system 1140, device drivers, executablelibraries, and/or other code, such as application(s) 1145, which maycomprise computer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or maybe designed to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussed above,such as the method described in relation to FIG. 8 , may be implementedas code and/or instructions executable by a computer (and/or aprocessing unit within a computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/orinstructions can be used to configure and/or adapt a general purposecomputer (or other device) to perform one or more operations inaccordance with the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the storagedevice(s) 1125 described above. In some cases, the storage medium mightbe incorporated within a computer system, such as computer system 1100.In other embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from acomputer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as an optical disc),and/or provided in an installation package, such that the storage mediumcan be used to program, configure, and/or adapt a general purposecomputer with the instructions/code stored thereon. These instructionsmight take the form of executable code, which is executable by computersystem 1100 and/or might take the form of source and/or installablecode, which, upon compilation and/or installation on the computer system1100 (e.g., using any of a variety of generally available compilers,installation programs, compression/decompression utilities, etc.), thentakes the form of executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

With reference to the appended figures, components that can includememory can include non-transitory machine-readable media. The term“machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium” as used herein,refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data thatcauses a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In embodimentsprovided hereinabove, various machine-readable media might be involvedin providing instructions/code to processing units and/or otherdevice(s) for execution. Additionally or alternatively, themachine-readable media might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may takemany forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatilemedia, and transmission media. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, magnetic and/or optical media, punch cards, papertape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM,EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier waveas described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer canread instructions and/or code.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed herein are examples. Variousembodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, features described with respectto certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments.Different aspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in asimilar manner. The various components of the figures provided hereincan be embodied in hardware and/or software. Also, technology evolvesand, thus, many of the elements are examples that do not limit the scopeof the disclosure to those specific examples.

It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of commonusage, to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements,symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, numerals, or the like.It should be understood, however, that all of these or similar terms areto be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merelyconvenient labels. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as is apparentfrom the discussion above, it is appreciated that throughout thisSpecification discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “ascertaining,”“identifying,” “associating,” “measuring,” “performing,” or the likerefer to actions or processes of a specific apparatus, such as a specialpurpose computer or a similar special purpose electronic computingdevice. In the context of this Specification, therefore, a specialpurpose computer or a similar special purpose electronic computingdevice is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typicallyrepresented as physical electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantitieswithin memories, registers, or other information storage devices,transmission devices, or display devices of the special purpose computeror similar special purpose electronic computing device.

Terms, “and” and “or” as used herein, may include a variety of meaningsthat also is expected to depend at least in part upon the context inwhich such terms are used. Typically, “or” if used to associate a list,such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in theinclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, here used in the exclusivesense. In addition, the term “one or more” as used herein may be used todescribe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular ormay be used to describe some combination of features, structures, orcharacteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely anillustrative example and claimed subject matter is not limited to thisexample. Furthermore, the term “at least one of” if used to associate alist, such as A, B, or C, can be interpreted to mean any combination ofA, B, and/or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

Having described several embodiments, various modifications, alternativeconstructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from thespirit of the disclosure. For example, the above elements may merely bea component of a larger system, wherein other rules may take precedenceover or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments.Also, a number of steps may be undertaken before, during, or after theabove elements are considered. Accordingly, the above description doesnot limit the scope of the disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A server, comprising: a transceiver;memory; and a processor, communicatively coupled to the transceiver andthe memory, the processor configured to: obtain beam support informationof a plurality of cells, wherein the beam support information comprisesa number of beams supported by the plurality of cells for a locationdetermination operation for a mobile device; send configuration data tothe mobile device, the configuration data including a subset of theplurality of cells with which the mobile device is to perform signalmeasurements for the location determination operation, the subset of theplurality of cells selected based on the beam support information of thecells; receive results of the signal measurements; and determine alocation of the mobile device based on the results of the signalmeasurements.
 2. The server of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: send a signal measurement request to the subset of theplurality of cells to initiate additional signal measurements at thesubset of the plurality of cells; receive results of the additionalsignal measurements; and determine the location of the mobile devicefurther based on the additional signal measurements.
 3. The server ofclaim 2, wherein to send the signal measurement request, the processoris configured to send an Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) measurement initiationresponse message.
 4. The server of claim 2, wherein the additionalsignal measurements comprise a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)measurement, a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement, atiming advance measurement, or a combination thereof.
 5. The server ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to configure thesubset of the plurality of cells to update transmission schedules ofpositioning reference signals (PRS).
 6. The server of claim 5, wherein,to configure the subset of the plurality of cells to update thetransmission schedules of the PRS, the processor is configured toconfigure the subset of the plurality of cells to increase a duration ofthe PRS, reduce periods between the PRS, allocate additional carrierbandwidths to transmit the PRS, or a combination thereof.
 7. The serverof claim 1, wherein the beam support information comprises PRS codebookinformation which encapsulates beams which are enabled along variouselevation and azimuth angles.
 8. The server of claim 1, wherein the beamsupport information comprises information to identify each beam of thenumber of beams supported at the plurality of cells and beam widthinformation of each beam.
 9. The server of claim 1, wherein, to obtainbeam support information, the processor is configured to send aninformation request to base stations of the plurality of cells.
 10. Theserver of claim 1, wherein the signal measurements comprise measurementsof PRS, measurements of RSRP, measurements of RSRQ, timing advance,angle of arrival (AoA) or a combination thereof.
 11. A method, at aserver, comprising: obtaining beam support information of a plurality ofcells, wherein the beam support information comprises a number of beamssupported by the plurality of cells for a location determinationoperation for a mobile device; sending configuration data to the mobiledevice, the configuration data including a subset of the plurality ofcells with which the mobile device is to perform signal measurements forthe location determination operation, the subset of the plurality ofcells selected based on the beam support information of the cells;receiving results of the signal measurements; and determining a locationof the mobile device based on the results of the signal measurements.12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: sending a signalmeasurement request to the subset of the plurality of cells to initiateadditional signal measurements at the subset of the plurality of cells;receiving results of the additional signal measurements; and determiningthe location of the mobile device further based on the additional signalmeasurements.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the signal measurementrequest comprises an Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) measurement initiationresponse message.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the additionalsignal measurements comprise a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)measurement, a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement, atiming advance measurement, or a combination thereof.
 15. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising configuring the subset of the plurality ofcells to update transmission schedules of positioning reference signals(PRS).
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein configuring the subset of theplurality of cells to update the transmission schedules of the PRScomprises configuring the subset of the plurality of cells to increase aduration of the PRS, reduce periods between the PRS, allocate additionalcarrier bandwidths to transmit the PRS, or a combination thereof. 17.The method of claim 11, wherein the beam support information comprisesPRS codebook information which encapsulates beams which are enabledalong various elevation and azimuth angles.
 18. The method of claim 11,wherein the beam support information comprises information to identifyeach beam of the number of beams supported at the plurality of cells andbeam width information of each beam.
 19. The method of claim 11, whereinobtaining beam support information comprises sending an informationrequest to base stations of the plurality of cells.
 20. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the signal measurements comprise measurements of PRS,measurements of RSRP, measurements of RSRQ, timing advance, angle ofarrival (AoA) or a combination thereof.
 21. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by ahardware processor of a mobile device, cause the mobile device to:obtain beam support information of a plurality of cells, wherein thebeam support information comprises a number of beams supported by theplurality of cells for a location determination operation for a mobiledevice; send configuration data to the mobile device, the configurationdata including a subset of the plurality of cells with which the mobiledevice is to perform signal measurements for the location determinationoperation, the subset of the plurality of cells selected based on thebeam support information of the cells; receive results of the signalmeasurements; and determine a location of the mobile device based on theresults of the signal measurements.
 22. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 21, further comprising instructionsfor: sending a signal measurement request to the subset of the pluralityof cells to initiate additional signal measurements at the subset of theplurality of cells; receiving results of the additional signalmeasurements; and determining the location of the mobile device furtherbased on the additional signal measurements.
 23. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 21, further comprising instructionsfor configuring the subset of the plurality of cells to updatetransmission schedules of positioning reference signals (PRS).
 24. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the beamsupport information comprises PRS codebook information whichencapsulates beams which are enabled along various elevation and azimuthangles.
 25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21,wherein the beam support information comprises information to identifyeach beam of the number of beams supported at the plurality of cells andbeam width information of each beam.
 26. A server comprising: means forobtaining beam support information of a plurality of cells, wherein thebeam support information comprises a number of beams supported by theplurality of cells for a location determination operation for a mobiledevice; means for sending configuration data to the mobile device, theconfiguration data including a subset of the plurality of cells withwhich the mobile device is to perform signal measurements for thelocation determination operation, the subset of the plurality of cellsselected based on the beam support information of the cells; means forreceiving results of the signal measurements; and means for determininga location of the mobile device based on the results of the signalmeasurements.
 27. The server of claim 26, further comprising: means forsending a signal measurement request to the subset of the plurality ofcells to initiate additional signal measurements at the subset of theplurality of cells; means for receiving results of the additional signalmeasurements; and means for determining the location of the mobiledevice further based on the additional signal measurements.
 28. Theserver of claim 26, further comprising means for configuring the subsetof the plurality of cells to update transmission schedules ofpositioning reference signals (PRS).
 29. The server of claim 26, whereinthe beam support information comprises PRS codebook information whichencapsulates beams which are enabled along various elevation and azimuthangles.
 30. The server of claim 26, wherein the beam support informationcomprises information to identify each beam of the number of beamssupported at the plurality of cells and beam width information of eachbeam.